Is anyone else excited about President’s Choice printing their Holiday Insider’s Report again? Seriously, that is such a gift for us foodies! I feel like a kid going through the foodie version of the Sears Catalogue deciding what I want to pick up!
I decided to go for the PC Ascolana Fried Olives Stuffed with Cheese first. Olives and cheese? These were made for me! What a cool idea for a holiday appetizer. I found them near the PC Barbecue Chicken Steamed Buns at my particular store and they were $8.99. For the record, I paid for these out of my own pocket.
The Product
“Gloriously great green olives, just got greater (and cheesier). We took the legendary Ascolana olive (a classic recipe from Italy’s Marche region) and stuffed them with not one, but four cheeses. Then we lightly breaded them. Then fried them. When you set them out—on the appetizer table, charcuterie board, or alongside ice cold cocktails—guess who the new legend will be. (It’s you—the legend is you.)”
Sounds fantastic!
The Packaging
Uh… They were literally just sitting in a box. There was no plastic bag and they almost went flying when I opened it. OK, not a great start. This makes them much more susceptible to freezer burn and the box did not close easily so clearly these are for using all right away
The Ingredients
Normally I would have copied and pasted the ingredients here but they are not on the product information page!
What the heck? May contain pits? I think that should have been on a warning label or something! I am used to warnings about soy and mustard is an odd one but pits and/or pit fragments? Yikes!
Nutrition Facts
Once again the nutritional information is not on the product information page. So bizarre! I swear they used to include all of this information on their site but perhaps because it is just for the holidays they did not bother but people want to know this information so I took photos.
Preparation Instructions
OK so let’s get to the cooking and eating portion of the post! Preheat oven to 400F on a single layer of a parchment-lined sheet for 14 minutes, turning once.
This is where things get tricky for me. I have a small hybrid Ninja machine that does bake but it is very thin in comparison to most ovens and foods cook fast.
The First Foodie Results
“Filling may leak if overcooked.”
Damn it. I baked them according to the instructions and they were definitely overcooked. As a result, I did not feel as though this was a proper representation of the product and made them again. This time?
The Second Foodie Results… Air Fried!
Much better! Air frying seems to get hotter faster and food takes less time so I made these in a 350F air fryer for 10 minutes and turned once.
Now THAT is what I am talking about! Nothing wrong with a little cheesy ooze.
Foodie Results
These olives have incredible texture. Truly they are a high quality olive! I wanted to know more about them but can not seem to find any other intel other than they are “green” but I know there is a story there. They are not too salty or brine-y. They are firm and luxurious. Thankfully I had zero pits show up in mine and I have eaten almost the entire box preparing for this product review!
The four cheeses (Edam, Blue, Provolone and “hard ripened cheese”) are quite subtle. I would have been thrilled to have more of a punch to the tastebuds with more Blue cheese but that is me. I like big and bold flavours. This is definitely more subtle for pleasing a holiday crowd. Oh warm olives are particularly delicious and seriously, who is going to make these cheese-stuff battered olives themselves? Which is why I choose them as a product to review. Something special for guests that is easy to cook in the oven.
I honestly do not remember the battered exterior very much. There was no serious crunch even after going through the air fryer. I thought there would be a little bit of a drip of brine from the olives but no, they were quite dry and shockingly not super salty. In fact I would have liked more salty goodness. That said I did adore the combination of the warm olives and cheese and do think this is absolutely fantastic for an appetizer for a winter get together.
Potential pit shards and lack of proper packaging aside, I think this is a genius product President’s Choice! I wish you had more product information available online for people to check out but on their own, these are quite delicious. A little large for finger food perhaps but absolutely worth the $8.99 for a completely unique party treat that is easy to make.
I give PC Ascolana Fried Olives Stuffed with Cheese four out of five wooden spoons. I honestly feel that for food safety and quality control purposes they should be in a plastic bag inside the box and as tasty as they were I wanted a little more flavour but an excellent start!
Is there a particular product from their Insider’s Report you would like me to put through my test kitchen? At the moment I am taking requests!
Suzie, I always appreciate your honest and helpful reviews. I love that you included so much detail – and tried the product in two different ways. I might just have to check this out!
Thank you Jamie! Yes, always try so hard to be as honest as possible and now include details that are missing from the site. Just be careful of potential pit shards! I wish I had read that BEFORE I ate them! But none showed up thank goodness for me.
I remember from previous posts over the years what a huge olive aficionado you are, Suzie, so I’m not surprised that you enjoyed these! I’m going to browse through the online PC Holiday Insiders Report right now and see what’s there for delectable goodies this year!
Yes! I do love olives. I was the olive thief as a child eating any in sight at all.
Well, of course I went straight to the dessert section of the new PC Holiday Guide! The PC Mini Mousse Desserts and the PC Loads of Gummies & Candies Milk Chocolate Dessert Bar both intrigued me, but the one I think I’ll try to pick up to try is the PC Milk Chocolate Covered Chai Tea Almonds — I love chai tea! I wonder if this product can successfully capture that delightful spice flavour.
Alright!!! Thank you Debra! You have made this so very easy for me. I wrote them all down with an asterisk beside the almonds and see what I can find at my store. So exciting! Excellent choices. I am on it!
Not an olive fan, so I will likely give these a pass, but very happy (assuming it wasn’t an error) that there was no plastic inside – from an environmental perspective, the more we can eliminate the better! Glad you enjoyed them.
Olives definitely aren’t for everyone! Yes they were most delicious. Thanks for checking out the post Stacey even though you don’t like olives, that means so much to me.
Great review, Suzie! I appreciate your honest and detailed report on these. I probably would’ve walked right by these in the store, as I live alone and wouldn’t normally treat myself…but now I’m extra curious about those olives and I’ll pick up a pack next time I’m out!
Just wanted to add, biting down on a sliver of a pit is no joke! It happened to me once with a jar of olives and it’s really off-putting to say the least!
Aw thanks Jennifer!!! I am glad all my effort shows in my reviews. Same here, eating a whole box myself, OMG! So glad I do these reviews because I get to try stuff I normally never would.
Exactly!!! Pits and pit shards are a big deal! I wish there had been a warning label and not just added to the end of the list of ingredients. Thank you for confirming that was a big deal and I am sorry it did happen to you once. Yikes!!!
Sorry but would not get this product again the breading is horrible, cheese ran out and left part of an olive with not a great taste. I love green olives on their own but certainly not this product.
I ate stuff black olives with cream cheese. One would just put cream cheese in olive. Never had it in green ones.
Coffee is on and stay safe
Oh that sounds delicious too!
Great review, Suzie. I won’t be able to have them because of the wheat, but I’m intrigued by the concept. Odd that the coating doesn’t really crisp up, but I suppose its job is more to keep the cheese in than really adding much texture. Do you think these would pair well with a dipping sauce? Maybe something like Romesco to add a bit more salt and punch?
Of the other products, I’m intrigued by the Winter tea…chocolate and peppermint that isn’t hot chocolate would expand my options. But I’m also a sucker for PB & Chocolate so the ice cream is tempting.I think the Pepperpot cooking sauce is most interesting though…not a recipe I’m familiar with and I love stuff I can set to cook and walk away.
I think a dipping sauce is a fantastic idea Jen! They are not hugely salty so you could try something that has a salt punch for sure. I wish I could have reviewed more PC products this year but there has been a death in my family and I am currently displaced. I hope you enjoyed the PC products you got to try and hopefully enjoy!
I’ve previously enjoyed the authentic freshly-made Olive Ascolane since my family is from the province of Ascoli Piceno in Italy. They are traditionally made with meat (3 different kinds) or fish and are delicious. My parents and I were looking forward to trying these PC ones; they were disappointing to say the least. The cheeses are overpowering. It is an ok cheese/olive ball snack but to call them olive ascolane is misleading.
Yes another commenter mentioned that they are usually stuffed with me, I did not know about the fish! I am sorry you didn’t enjoy them and found the cheese too strong.
I’m sorry, but Ascolane Olives are stuffed with ground pork or lamb. This is just a cheap knockoff.
Visit Ascoli Piceno, Italy to experience the real meal.
Vito Gelose
It is true that when they were created they were traditionally stuffed with meat which sounds fantastic to me! Thank you for bringing this to our attention Vito Gelose.
Thx!